Days after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) named hacker coalition 'Anonymous' as an enemy among the likes of Al Qaeda and North Korea, the hackers issued a warning to the global military alliance.

"Do not make the mistake of challenging Anonymous. Do not make the mistake of believing you can behead a headless snake. If you slice off one head of Hydra, ten more heads will grow in its place. If you cut down one Anon, ten more will join us purely out of anger at your trampling of dissent," Anonymous said in a statement. Scroll down for the video message.

Last week at the New Strategic Concept conference in Lisbon, NATO's General Rapporteur Lord Jopling added Anonymous to NATO's list of enemies that includes Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and North Korea. In a report, Jopling called for NATO's 28 member nations to mutually defend itself against Anonymous attacks.

"Observers note that Anonymous is becoming more and more sophisticated and could potentially hack into sensitive government, military, and corporate files," he wrote.

He also said Anonymous' days were numbered:

"Today, the ad hoc international group of hackers and activists is said to have thousands of operatives and has no set rules or membership. It remains to be seen how much time Anonymous has for pursuing such paths. The longer these attacks persist, the more likely countermeasures will be developed, implemented, the groups will be infiltrated and perpetrators persecuted."

About the Author

Sara Yin is a junior analyst in the Software, Internet, and Networking group at PCmag.com, pouring most of her energy into app testing and security matters at Security Watch with Neil Rubenking. She lies awake at night pondering the state of mobile security (half-true).
Prior to joining PCMag.com, Sara spent five years reporting for publication... See Full Bio

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